By Tshepiso Mogotsi

The performance of local governments is currently under scrutiny, with the top-performing municipality in line to win the prestigious Vuna Municipal Performance Awards and scoop the national R3-million prize money.

The Vuna Awards, an initiative of the Department of Provincial and Local Government (DPLG), the National Productivity Institute (NPI), the South African Local Government Association (SALGA) and the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), are to be announced on 5 December.

Municipalities are urged to submit their entries for the Vuna Awards by Monday 11 August.

The aim of the awards is to promote creative and innovative municipal service delivery, identify and support poorly performing municipalities, build confidence in municipalities, and improve the image of local government.

Every municipality and metropolitan in the country is automatically entered into the competition and judged on its performance. Top provincial municipalities then go through to the national competition.

The first round kicks off in October, national productivity month, with the announcement of the regional awards. Provincial municipality winners will each receive R750 000, while the first runners up will get R500 000, followed by R250 000 for the second runners up.

Entry forms, available from www.dbsa.org and www.salga.org.za, include the judging criteria and municipalities need to submit information about their performances since 2000.

There are five areas that will be assessed:

• Service delivery, focusing on how communities have been assisted with things like water and electricity;
• Local economic development and job creation projects, looking at the links the local governments have formed with local businesses;
• Municipal transformation, evaluating the systems that have been put in place to bring about transformation within the municipal structures;
• Finances, evaluating revenue collection and spending; and Governance, looking at decision-making, implementation, and the cooperation between administrators and councillors.
• Local and Provincial Government Minister, Sydney Mufamadi, will announce the national winner on 5 December at a ceremony to mark the anniversary of the local government dispensation.

"This will provide a snapshot on the performance of municipalities since the new system of local government was introduced in 2000," said DBSA's Bruce Berry, adding that the awards would become annual event.

For more information call Bruce Berry on (011) 313 3502.

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